Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-07-22
1NDIANAP0LIS NOTES.
GOCClP ABOUT THE CITY AND ITS
GREAT MEN.
bho Growth of tho Town and Its Pros
pects-Somo "reminiscences of oliver
=. Morton-Nhat Conkling Said of Him.
Peculiaritics of Judge Turpic.

Tram in shape, with the exception OF the lower
edge, which is made up of the forks of the
Wabash and Ohio rivers, which flowing to-
ward each other, form an acute angle at
Tho southwestern corner of the state, The
most of tho state is agricultural, AMI it ranks
second among tho states of the union i'll its
wheat production, Tho topography is gen
orally llt or rolling, and a great part of tho
state has hocn drained to fit it for farming.
Its best crop is corn, but it is fast coming to
tho front as a dairy state, and indianapolis
Yicj with Chicago and Cincinnati and Kansas
City ae pork packing ccnters. The second
largest pork packing establishment of the
country, | am told, exists here and during
tho season 10000 hogs are packed away IN In
annapolis daily.
This city Of indianapolis is in the center of
tho state, and it is one of the greatest railroad
centers of tho country. 1t has thirteen roads
coming into it from every direction, and moro
than 100 passenger trains go out of it every
DAY. Tho town has had q wonderful growth.
Laid out in the woods in 1920, ten years later
It's entire property was not worth more than
Sl25, GOO. Now it contains more than 100000
people, and it has increased to this from TO-,
900 i'll 1850. Tho city had q severe blow in
The pane of 1913, when many of the best of
us old established firms went down and when
the business confidence Of the people was for
q long timo destroyed. Within few years,
however, it has rapidly recovered and the city
has apparently got new lease of life. There
has been steady advance i'll real estate values
and III commerce and manufactures. The
town does the larger part of the commerce
If the state. Its wholesale houses supply the
interior towns, and it will havo steady
growth with the growth of the rest of Indiana.
indianapolis has added greatly to its advan-
tages as o manufacturing center by its belt
railroad, which circles the city and connects
Nith all of its numerous railroads Along the
.iiro of this railroad manufacturing establish
ucuts have been built. and 10y the payment of
81 a car they can switch their cars ON it to any
abroad they wish. If natural gas can be
fllmishcd tue city at q low rate, these manu-
'acturlng plants viii grow very fast. and the
g.ge industries already here will take adyau-
uaae Of it, 49,:
he factories here are of all kinds. ono
ron and steel firm, making roller flour mills,
las twelve 2crrs of works, a mallcable iron
works employs 500 hands. car factory
covers fifteen acres with its buildings, an en-
sine works turns out 500 locomotive boilers a
year, and there are two large saw works here.
lhen there arc a number of other foundries
aud iron works, factory turning out 5000
boNes for pork and meat packing day. large
lumber yards and planning mills and the big
:geSt desk factory in the country, A burial
,,sket factory makes 300 wood casiets a week,
and there is hominy mill here which uses
$500 bushels of corn a day, the yearly ship
uent Of which, if divided among the people
Of the United States, would supply each man,
woman and child in it with one pound of
-, l,,,
along this belt railroad, and they were occu-
pied during the past year 10y more than
1000, 900 hogs, $4,000 cattle, 1870, 900 sheep and
5000 horses.
indianapolis has gained the reputation of
Being nlaarious city, and the ague of lndi-
ana has been sounded abroad. One of its late
commissioners of vital statistics repudiates
lhis statement and emphaticaly says: "Indi-
ana has less epidemic diseases than Ohio or
Wisconsin, indianapolis is less malarious
1han Washington or New York, and there is
more quinine sold today on the banks of the
Hudson than there is sold on the banks of the
Wabash OF recent statistics Of cities of
100 900 inhabitants, indianapolis ranks the
lowest in its percentage of mortality. 1t is
only IA per cent, while Cleveland is IS per
sent, and all others above 90 per cent, New
ork leading at p per cent. The town is
well drained and our sewerage is perfect"
In a raised circle of green, not far from the
new state house in indianapolis, there stands
n bronze statue of Oliver z. Norton In Uni
versity park there is statue of Schuyler
Colfax, and the Hon. John C. New tells me
the city will soon erect a statue of Vice Pres
ileut Hendricks. The statue Of Morton is
..baps eight feet high. 1t stands on gray
granite pedestal and the tall figure of Nor
ion is in the attitude Of speaking. The right
land is outStretched, and the left, hanging at
lilo side, holds roll Of manuscript. The
Y1Se of the figure is good and the face is
strong, full and rather rough in its features.
looked at it in company with lifelong
friend Of Morton's, and as we sat in its shadow
talked with him about the great Indianian.
Said he:
Morton was the greatest man this state
las ever known. He was the greatest United
States senator of his time, and he did more
10 shape the legislation of the country while
no was at Washington than any other man
IN congress. He was the leading spirit dur
ug the Impeachment trial of Andrew John
son, and Conkling and the other Republicans
rehed upon him. had q talk with Conkling
on this subject. He told me that Morton,
though he had been but a short time in the
senate, soon took first rank in the conduct of
the trial. Said Conkling:
Whenever Evarts or any of the other
counsel for the defense proposed knotty
question during the day and the court ad-
joorned over to the morrow, it was Morton
who brought us out of our difficulties. While
The rest of us, in the dark as to what was to
be the future Of the trial, spent our evenings
IN going about with the fashionable society
Of Washington, Morton, invalid as he was,
remained in his room studying up the case.
The next morning always found him full OF
precedents and arguments, which completely
upset the theories of the defense, and which
made that which had appeared SO dark as
clear as midday
"COnlling told me this while Morton was
sub living, and he could not find words toe
strong to express his admiration of him.
"Ohyer r. Morton" this gentleman went
on, "made the first war speech which was
made north of Mason and Dixon's line. II
was in 1860. The whole country appeared